Islam
i europæisk litteratur:
DANTE AND ISLAM
by Peter Sayer
The Collegiate School, Columbia 1997
Dante Alighieri was a conservative, devout Christian, as well as a
strong representative of the attitude of his time Such a perspective is
displayed in his book, the Inferno, in which he responds to one of the
influences of his time period. the Arabic worlds The influence of Islam
was not found in all aspects of medieval society yet its impact, found
especially on Christianity and medieval intellectual life, was strongly
felt In canto VIII of the Inferno, where Dante describes the existence of
mosques in the city of Dis, and in canto XXVIII, where one encounters
Mohammed and Eli in Hell, Dante conveys his attitude towards Islam His
placement of these aspects of Arabic culture amongst the sinners of Hell
corroborates the notion that Dante held a contemptuous and negative view
towards the Muslim world His antipathy for such a culture is based not
simply on a prejudiced view that he heldn but rather on his disgust
towards its effects on the Christian Church as well as on medieval
intellectual lifeW Based on his inclusion of Muslim mosques and leaders in
Hell, one can see that the impact on medieval life obviously perturbed
Dante, for he would have preferred to have his culture completely devoid
of any Islamic influences.
The medieval view of Islam was a hostile one primarily based on
fear and prejudice.[01]
The basis for this fear evolved from the belief that the Muslim religion
posed a serious threat to Christianity's existences for it gave
Christianity some unwelcomed competition.[02]
In other parts of the world, namely in the East, Islam had a strong
foothold, and such a foothold proved to be menacing to Christianity since
it showed the world that Christianity was not the absolutes most powerful
religion. While the Muslims jeopardized the reputation and stability of
the religion of the West, other Christian lands were falling under Arabic
ruled One of these countries included Spain, where Muslim occupation,
which began in 711 A D , resulted in the religious conversion of the
Spanish people and culture.[03]
This conquering of Christian soil proved to be another reason why the West
felt threatened by the Arabic presence in the world In addition,
disdainful views of Mohammed were held by Westerners, for he was regarded
as being a false prophet, as a result, Islam was regarded as a heresy, for
it appeared to be so radically different from Christianity, and did not
involve the worship of the Christian god.[04]
In addition, Mohammed was also thought of as being the Devil's tool to end
Christianity's spread and success to being instead:
a sexual, self indulgent murderer whose book Ache Koran was a
collection of pretended revelations and whose religion spread by deceit,
violence and the lure of lascivious practices.[05]
Most people in the West during the Middle Ages harbored these
antipathetic feelings for IslamS in which the religion and its progenitor
were looked upon with such disdain.
In the Inferno, Dante proves that he was not exempt from this
scornful attitude towards the Arabic culture. The first time one
encounters any aspects of Muslim culture throughout the Inferno is in
canto VIII, when Dante and Virgil are coming upon the city of Dis. As
Dante explains to Virgil, "I can already see distinctly a- / master
-- the mosques that gleam within the valley, / as crimson as if they had
just been drawn out of the fire."[06]
In these lines, Dante's contempt for Islam is made quite evident, for he
places mosques, the sanctuaries of Muslim worship, in the city of Dis. Had
Dante respected the Arabic culture, he would have placed these mosques
either in Purgatory or in Heaven, not in Hell amongst all of the other
infidels and sinners. Furthermore, he states that the mosques are "as
crimson as if they had just been drawn X out of the fire"; thus,
Dante suggests that the mosques are ablaze. By indicating that they are in
flames, Dante is punishing the followers of Islam, for the fire will bring
about the destruction of their mosques. Such a description of these
mosques reveals Dante's contempt for Arabic culture.
In canto XXVIII, where one encounters Mohammed and Eli, Dante's
lack of respect for Muslim culture is again Portrayed. In this canto, one
of the sinners tells the two travelers of Hell: "See how maimed
Mohammed is! And he / who walks and weeps before me is Ali, / whose face
is opened wide from chin to forelock" (canto XXVIII, 31-33). Since
they caused schism in life, Dante has eternally punished them in a
gruesome manner by having their wounds sealed and then reopened by a devil.
Had he not felt so contemptuous of Islam, he would have not placed
Mohammed and Ali, the religion's two most influential men, in Hell.
Furthermore, Dante would not have depicted them as being maimed in such a
graphic manner if he was not so perturbed by the culture. One can imagine
that such a punishment would bring an extremely excruciating amount of
pain upon the individual who is being punished; thus, by giving these two
progenitors of the Muslim religion an extremely tormenting, agonizing
punishment for eternity, Dante shows how strong his aversion to the Arabic
world is. Had he not been so contemptuous of Islam, then he would have
given Mohammed and Ali a milder punishment.
The placement of the two most influential men in Islam among the
schismatics introduces one of the main factors that fuels Dante's contempt
for Arabic culture. In addition to a prejudice against the culture,
Dante's dislike is also derived from its effects on Christianity In
contrast to the view of his time, Dante does not punish Mohammed and Ali
for heresy, but rather for schism, indicating that they brought about
schism in the Christian Church.[07]
Mohammed and Eli are not only responsible for heresy, as Dante believed,
because in addition to forming a religion that went against the ideals and
established views of Christianity, they also caused dissent and schism
within the Christian community. During the Middle Ages, there was a
prevalent belief that Mohammed was an apostate Christian, possibly even a
cardinal.[08]
Furthermore, Mohammed possessed a deep reverence for Christ, for he
regarded him as being the greatest of prophets, and considered his birth
to be a wonderful event.[09]
Even though Mohammed might have been an apostate, he was still a member of
the Christian community, thus, when he decided to break sway from
Christianity to form Islam, he took with him many followers of the
Christian god. Since the Muslim religion began to attract many individuals,
eventually consuming almost all of the East, Dante must have felt that
these individuals were "stolen" from Christianity, and would
have been part of his religious community if it were not for Mohammed. For
this reason, Dante feels that Mohammed caused dissent, or schism, in the
Christian community, and was not responsible simply for heresy. For Dante,
heresy involves doubting Christianity's ideals "Epicurus and his
followers, f all those who say the soul dies with the body" (canto X,
14-15). Since part of the Christian doctrine entails the belief that the
soul has an afterlife either in Heaven or Hell, Epicurus doubted this
belief by stating that "the soul dies with the body^" Thus, he
spoke against Christian doctrine, and for that reason, he is amongst the
heretics Dante most likely believed that Mohammed was responsible for
heresy as well, however, his main problem with Mohammed is predicated on
the turmoil that he caused in the Christian community by founding Islam.
Dante punishes Mohammed not just for establishing the Muslim religion, but
rather for having such a profound impact Ott his own beloved religion.
Dante does not simply blame Mohammed for breaking up the Christian
religion, rather, he also thinks that the Christian clergy was also at
fault.[10]
If there had been no problem with the Christian Church, then there would
have been no need to break away from it. However, since Mohammed chose to
do son then Dante, as well as other critics of the Church, decided to
blame the clergy for the establishment of Islam. According to Dante and
these other Clitics, the problems that existed within the Christian Church
were a primary cause for the establishment of the Muslim religion;
therefore, the way to ameliorate such a problem of schism would be to
reform Christianity.[11]
Such an attitude reflects Dante's love of his own faith, for he would want
the Church to be reformed in order to bring it back to an ideal, divine
state. In the Inferno, some of these problems of the Church are addressed
by Dante in order to bring about this reformation of Christianity such as
the problem dealing with S L mony. Dante's delivers an invective against
simony when he states, "Rapacious ones [simonists], who take the
things of God, / that ought to be the brides of Righteousness, and make
them fornicate for gold and silver!" (canto XIX, 2 4). Thus, Dante is
critical of clergy members who use their power with the Church to make
money, by selling either pardons for one's sins or entries into Purgatory.
Simony is one of the problems with the clergy that Dante tries to redress,
for he felt that it was one of the many faults of Christianity that helped
to bring about the establishment of the Muslim religion.
While the effects of Arabic culture on Christianity formed the
basis for Dante's hatred of Islam, its effects on mediswal society were
also responsible for fueling his anger. One of the areas in which medieval
society was affected by the Arabic world was in the tradition of courtly
love poetry (Provencal poetry sung by the troubadours) that praised women.[12]
The theory suggesting that courtly love poetry was influenced by Islamy
called the "Arabist theory," was initially pursued by a marl
named Giammaria Barbieri in his book Dell'origine delta Poesie rimata,
published in 1790.[13]
Some of this influence could have also come from a type of Arabic poetry
called Mozarabic, which not only preceded the poetry of the troubadours,
but also resembled it in "some fundamental structural features and
thematic characteristics."[14]
In this form of Arabic poetry, as in the poetry sung by troubadours, the
existence of themes that praise women is evident. In addition to poetry,
other forms of Arabic literature could have impacted the Provencal poetry,
such as the Muslim tales that followed the format of the following one by
Ahmed ibn Abu-l-Hawari, who lived during the ninth century:
In a dream I saw a maiden of the most perfect beauty, whose
countenance shone with celestial splendour. To my asking, "Whence
comes the brilliance on thy faces" she replied... "I took those
tears of thine and with them anointed my face, since when it has shone in
brilliance."[15]
This tale shows how Arabic literature placed women, based on
their physical attributes, on a high pedestal, for the woman ill the
following tale is "of the most perfect beauty" and "shone
with celestial splendour." In comparison, one can look at an example
of an Italian troubadour poem from the thirteenth century and notice that
there is a similar emphasis on the physical beauty of women:
In her
face I have see [sic] the moon,
smiling with her radiant look. Did she
appear to me, I ask my eyes, while I was
awake or in a dream?
That look is a true mystery! It makes my
body sick, but it also cures it.[16]
The praise of women in this excerpt is quite clear, for the beauty of the
girl is so tremendous that the author puts forth the possibility that she
appeared to him while he was in the midst of a dream. Furthermore, since
she smiles "with her radiant look," there is the suggestion that
her appearance is not only radiant, but also intriguing. By comparing the
troubadour poem with the Arabic tale, one can clearly see the possible
influence of the Arabic world on medieval literature.
Arabic influence on courtly love poetry would have greatly
perturbed Dante due to the fact that he was so anti-Arabic, and would not
have favored having his culture tied to the culture of which he was so
contemptuous. Rather, he would have most likely preferred to have his
culture completely devoid of any Islamic aspects, and instead consisting
purely of Christian characteristics. Ironically, this courtly love poetry
was also exercised by Dante himself.[17]
His treatment of courtly love in the Inferno is shown when he writes about
a lady for whom he used to have an attraction, Beatrice. In courtly love
language, Virgil describes her as being "so blessed, so lovely... Her
eyes surpassed the splendor of the star's" (canto II, 53-55). In
these lines, Dante praises Beatrice by describing her as being
"blessed," and "lovely," with eyes full of
"splendor." Such an emphasis is placed by Dante on the physical
characteristics of Beatrice that one can notice parallels between his
poetry and the two excerpts from above of the Arabic tale and the
troubadour poem. Dante, like the authors of the two works cited above,
centers his description of Beatrice on her beauty and physical attraction.
Therefore, one can assume that Dante was subject to the same Islamic
influence to which the author of the troubadour poem above was susceptible.
While the Arabic world had a severe impact on medieval
literature, it had an even greater impact on medieval intellectual life.
At the time, Europe was craving for more information on science and
philosophy, for the people of Europe were depleting their supplies of
"intellectual capital."[18]
Furthermore, the demand for more scientific and philosophical information
was going stronger by the day, and European sources were not offering any
new material to satisfy the desires of people. Thus, Western scholars were
prepared to search out Arabic texts and translate them because they
strongly desired to have new knowledge.[19]
From the works and texts of Arabic peoples Europeans expanded their
knowledge on diseases arithmetic, algebra, trigonometry, and incorporated
astronomical tables from the Arabs that became the standard ones of the
Middle Ages.[20]
Before this decision to translate works from Arabic into either Latin or
the vernacular, Europeans had little knowledge of Greek philosophy and
science, for most of the Greek works concerning these fields had been
translated into Arabic. Thus, when Europeans were able to translate Arabic
texts, they gained the knowledge, for the first time, of Aristotlea Euclid«
Ptcjismyy and Archimedes, amongst others. Such knowledge was readily
accessible to Western Europe due to Muslim Spain, for Spain became:
...for the greater portion of the Middle Ages a part of the
Mohammedan East, heir to its learning and its sciences, to its magic and
astrology, and the principal means of their introduction into Western
Furope.[21]
As a result of this impact on medieval Europe, the intellectual
life was significantly expanded, for new inforsnation ranging from
medicine to linguistic philosophy was delivered to the Westerners.[22]
In light of his character, Dante was probably against the foothold that
the Arabic world had on the intellectual life of medieval Europe. To
witness such a scene in which his culture was opening up to the East must
have been a horrific and discouraging experience for Dante, who feared
that the possession of such knowledge would result in "spiritual
perdition" and "eternal damnation."[23]
Dante condemns some of those who indulged themselves in this knowledge,
for he places some of them in his Hell. For example, alchemy was one of
the sciences that the West learned from the East;[24]
however, in the Tenth Pouch of the Eighth Circle, Dante describes two
alchemists as "sitting propped against each other -- / as pan is
propped on pan to heat them up -/ and each, from head to foot, spotted
with scabs" (canto XXIX, 73-759. Dante places these two in Hell for
falsifying metals, for he considered falsification to be a sing However)
one can argue that he also places them in Hell since they were practicers
of alchemy, suggesting that they succumbed to the influences of Islamic
cultureS Thus, in light of his character, one can assume that Dante did
not want his own Christian culture to be tainted by the Arabic world.
Dante expresses his discontent with having any individual
associate with Arabic culture by placing Frederick II, ruler of Sicily
during the thirteenth century, in Hell among the Epicureans. While
Frederick is punished by Dante for believing that the soul dies along with
the body, one can argue that Frederick was also placed in Hell due to the
fact that he showed a great sensitivity and appreciation for Islamic
cultures The poets of his court wrote about aspects of Arabic culture,
while Arabic philosophers, translators, and other scholars were constantly
roaming throughout his halls. In addition to having the intellectual
aspects of his court exposed to Muslim influence, Frederick also made the
domestic elements "Arabized," for in addition to having a harem,
his bodyguards and clothes resembled those of Muslim culture.[25]
While Dante placed Frederick in Hell due to his Epicurean beliefs, it is
likely that Frederick's praise of Islamic culture was in Dante's mind when
condemning him to his eternal fate.
Dante himself shows that he may have been influenced by Islam in
writing the Divine ComedyN Miguel Asin Palacios put forth the
controversial idea in 1919 that Dante got the idea for writing about a
journey through Hell, then eventually up to Heaven, from two famous
Islamic works of literature: the Isra and the Mirage The former is about
Mohammed's journey through Hell, while the latter is about his Ascension
from Jerusalem to the Throne of Gods These two Arabic works of literature
struck Palacios as prototypes for Dante's Divine Comedy, in which Dante
goes on a very similar journey In addition, Palacios found that the links
between the Muslim legend and Dante's poem also included picturesque,
descriptive, and even episodic similarities.[26]
For example, Palacios drew a comparison between the city of Dis and the
city in the Moslem Hell, for both were described by the authors as being a
city of fire. Furthermore, the tombs of the heretics are described by
Dante as being a bed of fire, each harboring coffins of red hot iron;
similarly, Mohammed saw an ocean of fire, on whose shore were cities in
flames with thousands of red hot coffins.[27]
Thus, Palacios concluded that Dante used the Isra and the Mirai as
outlines in critics his journey through Hell, and eventually up to
Heavenly While this assumption may be true, one can argue that Dante used
these Arabic works as references in order to write a better, more complete
Christian story. Thus, he possibly wanted there to exist a similar story
to the Muslim legend, only one which was written by a Christian and that
was superior to the Muslim story. If this intention was Dante's plan, then
his attitude towards Islam is only corroborated, for he attempted to prove
how any piece of Christian literature could emulate and surpass any Arabic
literature, even if the works involved were coveted Muslim legends.
Although Dante looked upon the Arabic world with nothing but
contempt and disdain, one must keep in mind that he was reflective of the
general attitude of his time, in which his culture was skeptical towards
Islam as a whole. However, it is ironic that such antipathy for Muslim
culture did not stop any Westerners from absorbing the extensive knowledge
that the Arabic world offered the West. It is also ironic that such hatred
was not mutual; rather, the West simply did not exist to those of the
East, for the Muslims believed that "Their own religion was far
superior their language, the language of the angels, was matchless and
their way of life left nothing to be desired."[28]
Thus, the Muslims basically chose not to involve themselves with the
affairs of the West since they considered themselves to be culturally
superior. At the same time, the Arabic world "went its own way
unmindful of the West," suggesting that the Muslims did not regard
the Europeans in a hostile manner.[29]
Such are assertion makes the harsh treatment of Islam by Dante, and other
Westerners, seem more unjustified.
©
Peter Sayer
Courtesy:
Digital Dante, Columbia University
Bibliography
Haskins, Charles Homers The Renaissance of the Twelfth Century.
Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1971.
Hitti, Philip K. Islam and the West. Princeton: D. Van Nostrand
Company, Inc.
Lewis, Archibald. The Islamic World and the West -- A.D.
622-1492.
New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1970.
Menocal, Maria Rosa. The Arabic Role in Medieval Literary
History.
Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1987.
Palacios, Miguel Asin. Islam and the Divine Comedy.
London Frank
Cass & Company Limited, 1968.
Singleton, Charles, as located in Dartmouth Dante Data Base.
Southern,
R.W. et al. Relations Between East and West in the
Middle Ages.
Great Britain: Edinburgh University Press, 1973.
Endnotes
01.
Philip K. Hitti, Islam and the West (Princeton: D. Van Nostrand Company,
Inc) 49. ***
02. Hitti 49.
03. Hitti 49.
04. Hitti 50.
05. Hitti 50.
06. Dante Alighieri, Inferno, translation Allen Mandelbaum (New YorkX Bantam
Books,
1982) canto WIII, lines 70-73. All subsequent citations will be
given parenthetically
in the text.
07. Maria Rosa Menocal, The Arabic Role in Medieval Literary History
(Philadelphia
University of Pennsylvania Press) 1987) l30
08. Charles Singleton, as located in Dartmouth Dante Database, Inferno, canto
XXVIII,
line 31.
09. Charles Singleton, as located in Dartmouth Dante Database, Purgatory,
canto XXXII,
lines 130-135.
10. R.W. Southern et al, Relations Between East & West in the Middle Ages
(treat
Britain: Edinburgh University Press, 1973) 136.
11. Southern 136.
12. Menocal 86.
13. Menocal 79-80.
14. Menocal 84.
15. Miguel Asin Palacios, Islam and the Divine Comedy (London: Frank Cass and
Company Limited, 1968) 132.
16. Menocal 117.
17. Menocal 74-75.
18. Southern 143.
19. Southern 143.
20. Charles Horner Haskins, The Renaissance of the Twelfth Century (Cambridge:
Harvard University Press, 1971) 282.
21. Haskins 284-285.
22. Menocal 125.
23. Menocal 125.
24. Haskins 291.
25. Menocal 121.
26. Palacios xiii.
27. Palacios 16-17.
28. Hitti 62.
29. Hitti 62.
***
It is important to note that for Islam and the West, the date of
publication is
unknown due to circumstances beyond ones
control.
